GECF agrees link gas to crude prices

Members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum have agreed to price gas according to world oil prices. The decision could help major Russian gas suppliers.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko attended the meeting in Oran, Algeria to discuss the agreement taken by the forum.

“We adopted a joint declaration, resolution. It was made unanimously by all ministers. Our goal is to get the price pegged to its oil equivalent.”

Shmatko also touched on contractual matters between consumers and suppliers.

“We have always considered long-term contracts to be the best and the most reliable form of relations between suppliers and consumers. We consider the competition that emerged in the past six months between pipeline gas and so-called sport gas, mostly supplied from Qatar, as temporary.”

The minister said that Russia is also interested in getting into the world market for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Shmatko said that LNG prospects are promising in spite of the slumping market.

“Gazprom has a great deal of authority and experience with trading on the world gas market. In light of the increasing competition on the LNG market, and the appearance of new players, the opportunity to conduct trading operations with partners is promising.”